In deciding what makes an effective manager, there are four main factors to consider and not all of them are directly controlled by the manager concerned. They are, YOU, YOUR JOB, THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH and YOUR ORGANISATION.

You

You bring your own knowledge, skills, abilities, talents and experience to the job you do as manager and these things will have an impact on how effective you can be in your role. Managers with greater experience can often remember the mistakes they made as a newbie and so appreciate how their now-seasoned skills can improve their job performance.

Your job

The actual position you hold and the work you do in its duties and responsibilities will affect your ability to be an effective manager, since it may be either a good or bad match for your skills and abilities.

The people you work with

Other employees have a major influence on managerial effectiveness. People are important if a manager wishes to achieve the work he/she needs to do. To a certain extent, effectiveness is measured by how well the manager concerned is able to motivate people and coordinate their efforts to achieve best performance. However, in many settings, a more realistic appraisal of management work is that managers are dependent upon their employees to get work done, so effectiveness will be determined by the skills, abilities and willingness of those people.

Your organisation

Organisational structure and where you are within it will affect the amount of authority you can wield and the responsibilities you are expected to be able to handle. It can also specify limits to what is achievable. Also, your organisation’s corporate culture, with its unwritten norms of conduct and methods of working, will influence your ability to be an effective manager.

So it is not enough to simply improve your knowledge of management techniques to improve your effectiveness. These techniques must be tempered by an understanding of these four factors in order to become practically useful in the corporate workplace.

My wife, daughter and I were just watching World of Dance when a community warning interrupted our relaxation time. There were toxins released into the water, which freaked out my wife.

I wasn’t worried, of course, but my wife was getting ready to have me take the 30-minute commute to Eugene and have me buy as much water as I could carry! But I’m so relaxed, please don’t make me go out there…

Luckily, I looked up the warning online and found that the toxins actually wouldn’t affect us since it was taking place in a nearby town 60 miles away.

Whew!

And instead of braving the traffic I’m here on the keyboards writing this article for you.

Before you start Internet Marketing for your local brick-and-mortar, e-commerce and start-up business, I want to give you 7 powerful strategies to implement.

These are areas where the majority miss the boat and it costs them money and time establishing a business online.

My intention in this article is to help you get up to speed quickly before you start Internet Marketing so you avoid making costly mistakes:

1. It’s essential that you have short, medium and long-term goals even before you start Internet Marketing.

This means thinking about exactly what you want to achieve within a week, a month, six months, a year, five years and so on.

Goals are critical to your success in business. Without them, you’ll flounder because you have no focus, no direction, and no plan. You can even set goals for the next 10 to 20 years.

The mind needs specifics. If your goals aren’t specific and measurable then your goals won’t be effective in helping you move your business forward.

2. Identify all the business activities you’re good at. Are you good at sales and marketing? Accounting? Human Resources? Operations? List them and analyze which ones you’d like to achieve long-term.

3. Make sure you have a proven Internet Marketing strategy that can be documented even before you start Internet Marketing. Every detail included in your plan should be studied and reviewed on a regular basis to see if you’re right on track or if you need to do some tweaking (which is normal as a business grows).

4. Identify what types of services and/or products you’ll be selling to potential clients. Focus on a small number of products or services to start.

You can always modify your goals as you adjust to your markets’ wants and desires. You can’t afford to jeopardize the quality and efficiency of your work by trying to do too much. I’ve learned this the hard way…

5. You must know what you want your marketing/sales funnel to look like even before you start Internet Marketing. I recommend to all my clients to outline their funnels. This outline can be a simple list or diagram, but you need to make sure that the layout is arranged in order of appearance.

Plus, create a products and services catalog that has product and service descriptions, payment options and possible campaigns you can run to promote them.

6. Planning your promotions is critical to your success. An editorial and promotional calendar is something you should focus on. Once you have your marketing/sales funnel outline and catalog, the very next step is to schedule when you’ll promote your products and services.

7. Look for a mentor; someone who can give you answers to all your business-related questions.

I’d like to be your mentor so if you’d like to take the guesswork out of growing your business online then click here to get the ultimate shortcut to help you start Internet Marketing today.

Of course, you can find some of this information online. But nothing beats the information and best practices by learning from someone who has been in your shoes and has successfully established their own Internet-based business.

This week I’ve made it a goal to sell stuff around the house that I don’t use. I have an X-Box 360 that’s been sitting in a box for over 2 years along with 4 controllers and a bunch of video games.

I also have boxes of books I haven’t opened in a while.

All that makes today’s article fitting since I’m talking to you about how to sell stuff on eBay.

Alright, before I jump into that, yesterday I introduced you to Affiliate Marketing. Please click here if you missed it so you can catch up!

Look, I know you might already have a business or have aspirations to sell your own product. But Affiliate Marketing saves you the time and money it takes to get your own product and service to market…

Why not earn while you learn?

Or bare minimum, earn while you get your own stuff ready for market?

That said, if you make your own arts and crafts or have stuff around the house you want to sell like I do, then you’re really going to enjoy today’s article.

Since the arrival of online shopping centers, people have grown accustomed to buying what they need online.

Whether you want to order custom-made cakes for special occasions, buy home décor or looking for the perfect gifts for loved ones…

… online shopping centers such as eBay and Amazon.com can be your virtual shopping mall.

If you’re looking for the best way to unload your unused pieces of furniture and other personal belongings cluttering up your home, eBay can be your perfect answer.

What’s more, you can buy and sell goods from other countries such as clothes, jewelry and new electronic devices, all on eBay.

Take the Guesswork Out of Selling Items On eBay

You need to understand how this system works so you know the best ways to set up your account and start buying and selling items on eBay:

• The first thing you need to do is create your own eBay account. Submit the required personal information such as your contact information, the name of the business, and payment options.

• Be ready to answer all inquiries from potential customers. You have to regularly check your eBay account to respond to questions.

If you have a fast response rate, it’s more likely you’ll encourage lots of visitors to check out your listings since they’re interested in what you’re selling.

NOTE: It helps your sales if you include plenty of product, shipping and policy-related questions and answers so potential customers don’t feel the need to contact you directly because they won’t.

This way, they have all the information they need to make a buying a decision quickly.

Again, take time to list all product-specific and pertinent information that’s needed for your potential customers to make a buying decision such as manufacture date, expiration date (if applicable) and locations products were made.

• Be familiar with eBay’s different policies for selling personal and commercial items online so you don’t inadvertently break any laws.

• If you plan to sell items that belong in separate categories, you should create your own listings. You also need to determine the pricing of your items.

You can sell via auctions where potential buyers can bid on specific items they want.

Plus, you can try more traditional ways of selling by assigning a set price to each item.

• You can sell the same products but in different colors or sizes within the same category. eBay also has their own listings for your items and categories.

• Lastly, be sure to close the deal with your buyers quickly. It’s worth repeating, provide potential customers with all the details they need, specifically, the modes of payment and the turnaround time for delivery.

What should you keep in mind when selling on eBay?

Before you start selling your products on eBay, watch out for scams and be extra cautious. This will help you avoid making bad business decisions.

Here are 5 tips to help you sell successfully on eBay:

Tip 1. Research is the key to a successful eBay business.

It’s natural that you’ll find similar products posted so check out your competition. Competition is an indicator that your products are popular with buyers and auctioneers. This will also help you determine whether to continue selling these products or sell something different.

Tip 2. Take pictures and post. Pictures will help you sell your products. Just like when you order at a restaurant, pictures of the food will entice you to order. If the food doesn’t look appetizing, there’s no way you’ll order it.

The same applies to sell on eBay.

Potential buyers will first see photos of products before deciding if the items are worth buying. That’s why it’s critical to post photos that’ll attract more buyers.